You know when you see a meme and it just makes sense?

It's always great to see gut instincts validated by scientific research:

Conservative and very conservative parents are more likely to raise mentally healthy teens compared to liberal parents, according to a new study from the Institute for Family Studies and Gallup. ...

The IFS/Gallup report found that "the most important factor in the mental health of adolescent children is the quality of the relationship with their caregivers." The key driver is parents who have an "authoritative" style that combines "affection and attentiveness to children's needs with structure and requirements for pro-social, responsible behavior."

"Authoritative ... structure ... pro-social responsible ..." You know what those sound like, don't you?

And why shouldn't that be the case? Kids crave structure, discipline, guidance, authority. They don't want to be adrift! They don't know how the world works and they need parents to show them. They need their parents to believe there is an objective way the world and people are designed to work.

If they don't...

Conservative parents "enjoy higher quality relationships with their children, characterized by fewer arguments, more warmth, and a stronger bond, according to both parent and child reporting."

Notably, potentially confounding factors such as income and parental education "are largely unrelated" to the outcomes observed in the study. Rich or poor, schooled or unschooled: If you do parenting right [read: more conservatively] your kid has a better shot.

Keep it up, conservative parents, y'all doing great out there!

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